Trump civil fraud case: Judge fines Trump $354 million, says frauds 'shock the conscience'

The former president was found to have defrauded lenders.

Former President Donald Trump has been fined $354.8 million plus approximately $100 million in interest in a civil fraud lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel him to the White House. In the decision, Judge Arthur Engoron excoriated Trump, saying the president's credibility was "severely compromised," that the frauds "shock the conscience" and that Trump and his co-defendants showed a "complete lack of contrition and remorse" that he said "borders on pathological."

Engoron also hit Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump with $4 million fines and barred all three from helming New York companies for years. New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump and his adult sons of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" to inflate Trump's net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The former president has denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal.


Summary of penalties

Donald Trump and his adult sons were hit with millions in fines in the civil fraud trial and barred for years from being officers in New York companies. The judge said the frauds "shock the conscience."

Donald Trump: $354 million fine + approx. $100 million in interest
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
Donald Trump Jr.: $4 million fine
+ barred for 2 years from serving as officer of NY company
Eric Trump: $4 million fine
+ barred for 2 years from serving as officer of NY company
Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg: $1 million fine
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
+ barred for life from financial management role in NY company
Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney:
+ barred for 3 years from serving as officer of NY company
+ barred for life from financial management role in NY company


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Crowd of reporters awaits Ivanka Trump outside court

A sizeable group of reporters is huddling outside the New York State Supreme Courthouse in lower Manhattan awaiting the arrival of Ivanka Trump on a chilly 42-degree morning.

Moderately smaller than the crowd that waited her father on Monday, photographers and court reporters are crammed in a narrow maze of metal barriers that police have assembled outside the building for the trial. The security arrangement, which has been utilized any time a Trump family member has appeared in court, has become a regular part of life for reporters covering the trial and a curiosity for tourists exploring downtown New York.

"Is this the line to see Donald Trump?" a passerby asked this morning.

"Yes, but he's not here today," a reporter responded to the visibly disappointed tourist.


Trump lauds 'beautiful daughter' ahead of Ivanka's testimony

Former President Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron ahead of testimony this morning from his daughter Ivanka Trump, who is expected to be the last witness in the state's case before the defense begins presenting its case.

"My wonderful and beautiful daughter, Ivanka, is going to the Lower Manhattan Courthouse, at the direction of Letitia Peekaboo James ... and a Trump Hating, out of control Clubhouse appointed Judge, Arthur Engoron, who viciously ruled against me before the trial even started," Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to the judge's partial summary judgment against the defendants.

Donald Trump's lawyers also plan to question Ivanka Trump -- a notable departure after they declined to cross-examine Donald Trump and his adult sons when they testified.

"We are certainly going to ask her questions, to the extent we have questions," Trump's attorney Chris Kise said on Monday. "We are trying to get that done now so as to minimize the interference in her life to not have to come back again."


James says Trump's testimony doesn't change evidence

New York Attorney General Letitia James, speaking to reporters after court had adjourned, said that Trump's testimony didn't change her case.

"He rambled, he hurled insults, but we expected that," James said. "At the end of the day the documentary evidence demonstrated that, in fact, he inflated his net worth."

The New York AG said she "will not be bullied."

"I will not be harassed -- this case will go on," she said.


Defense says it will finish presenting its case by Dec. 15

Donald Trump's lawyers plan to present a defense case that would conclude by Dec. 15, defense lawyer Chris Kise said.

Before court concluded today, Judge Engoron also advised Trump's lawyers that he would not respond positively to a motion for mistrial based on the actions of his clerk who Trump's attorneys have accused of being biased against the defense and improperly influencing the trial.

"I am directing you not to make that motion," Engoron initially said -- but then he backtracked.

"We obviously are going to be moving for a mistrial -- that is part of the plan. [But] we do not want to put anyone at risk," Trump's lawyer Alina Habba said, requesting clarity about how they can move for a mistrial without violating the case's gag order that prohibits parties from making public statements about the judge's staff.

"You can make that motion. And I'm sorry I yelled at you before," Engoron told Habba.

Court is set to resume on Wednesday with testimony from Ivanka Trump.


Trump financials cite phone calls that witness says didn't occur

Doug Larson's name appears across five years of Donald Trump's financial documents, according to records entered into evidence.

A longtime professional appraiser with the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, Larson was cited in Trump Organization documents as an expert at valuing properties like 40 Wall Street, Trump Tower, and an adjoining retail space called "Niketown." Spreadsheets entered as evidence explicitly reference multiple phone calls with Larson between 2013 and 2017.

When asked about these phone calls in court, Larson testified that no such conversations occurred.

"Is it fair to say that Mr. Trump valued Trump Tower at $526 million in conjunction with you?" state attorney Mark Ladov asked Larson.

"No, that is incorrect," Larson said.

"Were you aware that Mr. McConney was citing you as a valuation source in his work papers?" Ladov asked.

"No, I was not," replied Larson, who said he did not assist Trump Organization executives in valuing Trump Tower, Niketown, or 40 Wall Street, despite Trump's paperwork referencing him as a source.

Evidence presented by the state instead suggested that the valuations were determined using cherry-picked metrics from a generic email Larson sent clients.

"It's a way to get your name out to clients for potential work," Larson said about one such "email blast" that was used in a Trump Tower valuation.

Larson added that the valuations Trump Organization executives determined based on "consultation" with him used flawed methodologies, such as using capitalization rates related to office buildings to appraise the retail Niketown building.

"It doesn't make sense," Larson said about Niketown's $287 million valuation.

"It's inappropriate and inaccurate," Larson said about the Trump Organization relying on his name to support their valuations. "I should have been told, and appraisals should have been ordered."